Isolation

Disappearance of Everyone

I turned off the oven and placed an oven glove over my hand, opening the large door and pulling out some large hot dogs. Once the dogs were placed in some hot dog buns I plated them and head for my room, sitting in my chair and pulling myself closer to my desk. Once I took a bite of the fresh, out of the oven hot dog I began typing on the keyboard. I pulled up a thread and clicked the "Write a Post" button. "I am...completely alone...in a city. Help." Click.

I timed it, looking at my wrist watch then at the post. After 5 seconds I refreshed the page. 404'd. What the hell? I tried it again.

It failed.

404'd

And once I tried a fourth time, my entire computer shut off. Okay, this was freaky.

It was the fourth day of the disappearance of everyone. Just, one day I go to bed and the next morning there was nobody home, nobody driving and nobody walking. Everything was so quiet it was creepy. I tried going to work that day but there was also no one there. No manager, no co-worker, no customers. And the strangest thing is that everyone's cars are either sitting in the driveway or smack in the middle of the road. I tried asking online right away, even included a few pictures. But as soon as I posted it, the thread was taken down.

...Ever since then I've just been trying to ask people online and checking around the area in case there might be anyone. The good thing is that there's no more restrictions on food. But since there's nobody to restock food, or keep it fresh, it'll eventually go bad. I need to think of something, and fast.

I was sitting in the kitchen, staring at the calendar for a good long while, trying to think of something to do. April 14th 2018. Good thing this happened while it was spring, had it been winter I would've had a terrible time. It was then while I was thinking of winter, that I had my bright idea. I looked inside the fridge, finding everything that might go bad within a one to two-month period, taking it and putting it in the freezer, as much as I could. I know it'll eventually go bad in the freezer, but at least it'll last for about twice as long as it should, right?

Inside the freezer there was now various meats, breads, fruits and just about everything I could fit in there. I shut the door with slight difficulty and then let out a sigh. I should probably eat whatever I have in my cupboards before going to town with the freezer foods. After all that was done, I grabbed a can of cola and head to my room. Sitting down and turning the computer on once again.

"I guess I should try again..."

~ ~ ~

Habits are a hard thing to get out of. This I had to learn the hard way. It always felt lonely when I would cook up something neat to eat, call everyone down and have no one come to get it, because of this, I started to cook less and less, relying on white rice and easy-to-make meals instead of stuff like lasagna, a pot of spaghetti and mashed potatoes. I stopped cooking big meals, because I could not bear to throw away nearly all of it. Another habit that I still do, five days after the whole situation, is saying goodnight to everyone. Usually, I just yell out into the house whenever I'm going to bed, and I'd always get at least one response. Now, it's just...quiet.

I hate it.

I want people back.

Where did my family go?

What about my friends?

Are they safe?

Have they died?

Am I dead?

Is this my purgatory?

...

Before I could break into a panic I took in a deep breath and tried to wash those thoughts away. Of course, I had trouble doing so, but eventually I was able to straighten myself and continue with my day. I put my shoes on and tied up the laces, then head out the door, locking it before I truly left. Locking the door...Was this another bad habit I'm going to have to break soon? There's nobody around to rob my house. There's just, nobody around. I took another deep breath, closing my eyes. "Calm down, you're okay..." I repeated those words to myself for a few minutes then began walking.

The walk to the store was around 15 minutes, not so bad considering how close I live to it. But it was still a hassle to walk there, maybe I should consider buying a bike...Buy? I'm running out of money, and I have no manager to pay me biweekly anymore. I can only afford instant noodles and water at this point. A bike is totally out of the question...

...But then again, there's no one to stop me from just taking a bike of my liking. But, that's a crime isn't it? It's bad, right? Wait, stop. Don't think like that, thinking like that might lead to really bad stuff. I wouldn't want to trash the place, only to discover that everyone just randomly came back one day. That wouldn't be good for me, they'd have my head!

Okay, I may be completely alone in this city, but in the very least I should try to act as if I'm still living in society. So basically, don't do anything that would make another person angry. No stealing, no yelling, no entering houses without permission. None of that.

So with that thought, I stood in front of the store's entrance, looking at my wallet then at the automatic doors.